Western black-headed snake

The western black-headed snake (Tantilla planiceps), also known as the California black-headed snake,[2] is a snake species endemic to the Californias (the U.S. State of California and the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico), as north as the San Francisco Bay and as far east as western Utah, and Texas.[3][4][5] It lives in mostly moist pockets in mostly arid or semiarid environments and spends much of its life underground. It has a flattened head as most crevice-dwellers and is seven to fifteen inches in size. It is brown, slender, olive-gray, with a black head bordered by a white collar. Its habitat is often in woodland, desert areas, grassland and along arroyos in areas that are wet in a usually dry region.[6][7][8]

Western black-headed snake
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Tantilla
Species:
T. planiceps
Binomial name
Tantilla planiceps
(Blainville, 1835)

The western black-headed snake is a member of a larger natural group of small New World terrestrial colubrids, where some of the related species include sand snake (Chilomeniscus), shovel-nosed snake (Chionactis), and the ground snake (Sonora). The western black-headed snake is the sister species of Tantilla yaquia of southern Arizona.[9][10] They are also related to Tantilla gracilis, Tantilla atriceps, Tantilla hobartsmithi and Tantilla nigriceps, all species endemic to the southwestern United States. It is visually similar to the southwestern black-headed snake (T. hobartsmithi).[11] Although they usually appear singly or in pairs, as many as six individual snakes have been observed together. They prey on arthropods, particularly centipedes and beetle larvae, as well as spiders, insects, slugs, and earthworms. They are highly secretive and rarely seen, spending much time under objects, especially during daytime.[12][13][14]

Sources
  1. Hollingsworth, B., Frost, D. R. & Hammerson, G. A. 2007. Tantilla planiceps. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 19 February 2016.
  2. Wrobel, Murray (2004). Elsevier's Dictionary of Reptiles. Elsevier. Page 469. ISBN 9780080459202.
  3. Bartlett, Richard D. and Alan Tennant (2000). Snakes of North America: Western Region. Gulf Publishing. Pages 50-51. ISBN 9780877193128.
  4. Shaw, Charles E. and Sheldon Campbell (1974). Snakes of the American West. Knopf. Page 264. ISBN 9780394488820.
  5. Basey, Harold E. (1976). Discovering Sierra Reptiles and Amphibians. YOSEMITE ASSN. Page 44. ISBN 9780939666034.
  6. Stebbins, Robert Cyril (1972). Amphibians and Reptiles of California. University of California Press. Pages 130-131. ISBN 9780520020900.
  7. Stebbins, Robert C. (1985). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians: Field Marks of All Species in Western North America, Including Baja California. Houghton Mifflin. Page 158. ISBN 9780395936115.
  8. Schoenherr, Allan A. (1992). A Natural History of California. University of California Press. Page 524. ISBN 9780520909915.
  9. Grismer, L. Lee. (2002). Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California, Including Its Pacific Islands and the Islands in the Sea of Cortés. University of California Press. Page 307. ISBN 9780520925205.
  10. Stoops, Erik D. and Annette Wright (1993). Snakes and Other Reptiles of the Southwest. Golden West Publishers. Page 27. ISBN 9780914846796.
  11. Stebbins, Robert C. (1985). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians: Field Marks of All Species in Western North America, Including Baja California. Houghton Mifflin. Page 218. ISBN 9780395936115.
  12. Miller, Alden Holmes and Robert Cyril Stebbins (1964). The Lives of Desert Animals in Joshua Tree National Monument. University of California Press. Page 425. ISBN 9780520008663.
  13. Stebbins, Robert Cyril (1974). Reptiles and Amphibians of the San Francisco Bay Region. University of California Press. Page 48. ISBN 9780520012110.
  14. Stebbins, Robert Cyril (1972). Amphibians and Reptiles of California. University of California Press. Page 5. ISBN 9780520020900.
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